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The History of~The Ninja
Feudal Japan was once of those times in the history of our world where war was rampant and only few places were considered safe. The Samurai were the notable people in this time in Japan's history, warriors that were devoted to honor and loyal to their Samurai master to the death. But there was another group of warriors which dominated Japan's feudal era: The Ninja. Warriors that were taught to use their environment and use anything they can find and/or carry on their mission. But what exactly is their history as well as their weapons and their tactics? This is what this page will try to explore. The History The Early history of the Ninja is barely (if at all) documented. Despite popular Japanese Folktales telling of Ninjas in the 13th century, they are inaccurate and unreliable. But it is determined by a lot of Japanologists and other historians that the first official records of the Ninja came somewhere in the 15th Century. However, the name "Ninja" came from an old Chinese word "Ni-Sha" (which means "Man of Shadow"), but the Japanese used the word "Shonobi" for some of the first Ninjas, much like their usual rivals: The Samurai, the Ninja began as hired assassins, until the beginning of the Sengoku Jidai (Warring Period) where the Ninja's role was become more prevalent, but unlike the Samurai, the Ninja were used as either spies or even as scouts to try to get either information or important battle tactics for their lords or masters. Some of the more prominent Ninja Clans were the Iga and the Koga. As mentioned before, the Ninja usually fought against the Samurai. But not on the field of battle, but more like inside a castle (especially if a Samurai were to spot a Ninja), however the Ninja often times had the advantage. One of the reasons was the weapons the Ninja sometime used. Weapons The Ninja used weapons, but unlike the Samurai. The Ninja often times had to rely on whatever they can bring on their missions, or in some desperate situations improvise and use what they can find. Shinobigatana: 'It's a commonly held misconception that the ''Katana was the Ninja's weapon of choice, the reason why they didn't use a huge weapon like the Katana is because it was too big, and too common of a weapon to use. Unlike the Samurai with their Katana, the Ninja would often time wear their Shonibigatana on their backs to keep them from showing their weapon or to keep it from rubbing up against or bang up against walls (as they'll make noise). This weapon is around 3 or 4 inches shorter than the original Katana, and this also gave the Ninja an advantage of some kind, and the reason for that is smaller and can be swung faster than the Katana. '''Shuriken: Probably iconic to the Ninja as much as the Samurai with the Katana, or even the Cowboy with the Colt.45. The Shuriken were throwing weapons, unlike the ones pictured above, the shuriken were crudely made as they began their life as tools to repair farm equipment or to get nails out of old wood. But the weapon was used in the training of the Ninja in how to throw a certain item as ninjas would also use darts, nails and even Japanese currency as throwing weapons. However, Shuriken weren't designed for direct combat or even to kill (despite if the weapon hits the throat or the head, which is a rare occurrence) but merely distract the attacker as the Ninja is making it's escape. Tekko-Kagi: Some kind of spiked device (or sometimes looking like claws), initially this weapon is used as a special device which helps them scale the foundations of the Castles. But they can also be used in battle as they can stop Katana Blades, and they also can be effective as a weapon because they can cause wounds which heal quite poorly, leaving the victim vulnerable to contracting a deadly disease or the wound would scar overtime. Kusarigama: This weapon began it's life as a farming tool as it consist of a sickle (used for harvesting rice or wheat) but some early Ninja put a chain on the bottom of the handle with a weighted ball on it. A good weapon to use either close quarters or from a distance as the Ninja can use the chain to either inflict pain, disarm it's opponent or choke them to death, the sickle itself can also be deadly as the Ninja can use the blade to slit the throat of it's opponent or cut off the hands. Fukia: 'Some kind of blow pipe for the Ninja. It has a variety of uses, it can be used like a snorkel for the Ninja to use when they need to traverse underwater, or to use as a medium range projectile weapon as they would use darts, and these darts are often laced with a potent poison which could kill the Ninja's victim within minutes. '''Poison: '''Ninjas didn't just use Poison for darts, they also took hair from a Horse and they would get to a vantage point such as the top levels of the bedroom of a Samurai Lord and use the Horse hair and drip some kind of poison down to the mouth of the Samurai lord which constricts the throat and windpipe, keeping air from getting into the victim's lungs, and withing a few seconds the victim is dead. '''Ninja Outfit: '''Not exactly a weapon, but there's also a commonly held misconception of the Ninja to be clad in some kind of black or dark colored outfit that hides everything but their eyes. But in reality, they wore more like in the picture above, it was a loose fitting outfit concealing lightweight chain mail underneath (designed for moderate protection against other bladed weapons while allowing more freedom of movement). This also gave the Ninja some advantage over the Samurai as it's lightweight and allows more freedom of movement. Tactics The main tactics of the Ninja is stealth. They must remain hidden at all times, because of this the Ninja usually go out at night (as in no Moonlit nights and not when a Thunderstorm is raging as the Moon and lightning can reveal their position), they also have to know every way a castle or temple is built as they scale the underwalls of a castle and enter through the crawlspaces of a castle, so for them knowing the castle is crucial because a Ninja must always have some kind of an escape route. Sometimes, the Ninja go undercover by either posing as regular citizens such as farmers, merchants, or even beggars called ''Komuso (priests that wear a bucket like objects over their heads and play the flute). Fighting tactics were also crucial especially if there is no available weapon to use. In this particular situation, the Ninja uses his fists and feet (no duh) but they are taught to hit with an unusual fist or foot, the kind of hits that land on a specific part of the body which can cause intense pain, or in some cases instant death. Ninja even had to do what Police today do called Stakeouts which they hang around an area for long periods of time, so they can extract information from enemy Samurai clans. They also worked as a team especially when it came to scling the underwalls of a castle where several Ninja would use themselves as a platform to allow the other to scale the underwalls. They even would create a distraction (like starting a fire close to a castle to draw away The Ninja had distingusihed themselves with their stealth tactics so much, that they were told through old Japanese ghost stories, and even other forms of folklore that tells the tale of Ninjas using magic VS. The Samurai As mentioned before, the Ninja would often go up against a Samurai Warrior, but more in a Castle and not so much on the battlefield, and as mentioned before the Ninja has some advantages in combat against the Samurai, some of them obvious like the ability to move more freely as the Ninja would wear a loose fitting outfit (concealing a lightweight chain mail) and the Samurai would (more often than not) wear an extra 50 to 70 pounds with armor (which can give the Samurai an advantage over the Ninja as it has better protection), the other thing is that the Ninja have slightly smaller weapons which can be moved faster and more fluidly, plus the Ninja can also use a wepon quite proficiently as they can find a weakness in Samurai armor and go for a soft part of the body for a kill shot. Notable Ninja There are a good number of notable Samurai that earned their prowess with their skills and proficiency in their use of weapons, some of them even tried to make an attempt on the life of an important Samurai Lord. '''Hanzo Hattori: Quite possibly the most famous of Japanese Ninja. Hanzo Hattori supposedly began training in the ways of the Samurai, but then turned to Ninjutsu. He was a personal spy that served the Tokugawa Clan, he supposedly helped Tokugawa himself flee froma certain battle. It is also said that he had a fight with another Ninja named Fuma Kotaro, but lost. But his legend would live on as a countless Ninja would assume his name after his death. Fuma Kotaro: '''A Ninja that once served the Hojo clan that once held lands in what is now Tokyo. Like Hanzo, he has distinguished himself with his Ninja skills and has served his lords well. As mentioned before his most famous time is when he faced off againsrt Hanzo Hattori and has defeated his rival Ninja. '''Goemon Ishikawa: One of the more unusual Ninja in Japan's history. Unlike most Ninja, Goemon served himself and accoring to some accounts he is Japan's answer to Robin Hood as he "Stole from the rich and give to the poor". But it was failed assassination attempt on Nobunaga Oda is where his story gets all the more interesting. He and his son were sentenced to be boiled alive on hot oil. Unbelievable it may be, but Goemon actually died for his son as he kept his son above the hot oil with just his hands (as he held his son above his head). 'Chiyome Mochizuki: '''Much like the Samurai, there were female Ninja (called ''Kunoichi) where they distingusih themselves by their even more stealthy tactics as they pose as Geisha or courtisans to extract information from an enemy Samurai Lord or even kill him by bedding him first. Chiyome was one of the more notable Kunoichi as she was the one to actually form a special training facility consisting of Kunoichi. Edo Period Very much like the Samurai, the Ninja would see it's prime during the Sengoku Jidai. But like the Samurai, the Ninja would see a decline after Ieysau Tokugawa would establish his Shogunate in 1603, so (again) like the Samurai the Ninja would seem useless as their purpose is to also fight. The last official battle for the Ninja was during the Shimabara Rebellion, as Koga Ninja were sent by the 3rd Tokugawa Shogun: Iemitsu. They have studied the layout of Hara castle to see how high the underwalls were, how big and deep the moat was and how much supplies the Christian rebels had. It wouldn't be until sometime in the 18th Century where the Ninja would be (somewhat) brought back. This is when the 8th Tokugawa Shogun: Yoshimune would establish his own organization called the Oniwaban which consisted of special agents and even special security forces for the Shogun. It's objective is to collect information from other ruling Lords of Japan, this would go on until the arrival of American Steam Ships (led by Matthew C. Perry). With this, Japan modernizes and most of the old traditions of Japan (including the Ninja) were forgotten. But not entirely, Ninjutsu is still taught in not just Japan, but other parts of the world. Some Japanese immigrants ventured to other parts of the world which they have mixed it with other martial arts (such as Spanish Ninjutsu) Americans were also taught in the ways of the old Ninja art, such as American Ninja Master Stephen Hayes (picutred with his master: Hatsumi Masaaki), in fact most of Masaaki's students are American who are taught in the ways of Ninjutsu. Well, that is all for this page. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis as well. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.